In the food & beverage industry, a brand's longevity is no longer enough, by itself, to create value. As the following examples show, for producers, distributors, importers and international buyers, company history becomes truly relevant when it translates into tangible assets: continuity, recognizable quality, capacity for innovation, distribution strength, production investment, adaptation to new consumption patterns and commercial support across markets.
The historic brands that continue to grow do not use tradition simply as a celebratory message. They turn it into a competitive platform, maintaining a clear promise while updating language, formats, channels, supply chains and consumption occasions. This balance makes them relevant both to end consumers, who seek trust and familiarity, and to the B2B market, where margins, rotation, reliability, positioning and sales support are key factors.
For an international distributor, a well-managed historic brand can be a significant advantage. A product with a strong identity, effective communication materials, a coherent range and a proven track record in several markets is easier to present to retailers, foodservice operators, specialist stores, e-commerce platforms and premium channels. At the same time, for Italian producers, several success stories show that heritage can become an export lever only when it is supported by real innovation and by an up-to-date understanding of market needs.
The following cases follow different paths, but share one point: longevity works when it does not resist change, but allows a brand to evolve while preserving consistency, identity and commercial value.
Ferrarini: supply chain, premium range and renewed export momentum
Ferrarini is a historic Italian brand associated with cooked ham production since 1956 and recognized as a Historic Brand of National Interest. Its relevance today does not depend only on the strength of its flagship product, especially the cooked ham known as "Il Ferrarini", but also on the brand's ability to renew its market position through continuous improvements in quality, production efficiency, new product development and international growth.
Product innovation also supports a more premium positioning. Recent launches, including Fumo di Praga and Pavo roast turkey, show the intention to strengthen the offer beyond the historic product while remaining consistent with the brand's culinary identity. For distributors, Ferrarini is an interesting example of a brand with a strong national and international reputation, an expanded range and renewed market potential.
In 2025 the company reached 197 million euros in turnover (+3%), with EBITDA of 13.4 million euros. Exports grew by 15%, confirming the brand's potential beyond the Italian market. On the production side, the most important project is the new Masone plant in Reggio Emilia, backed by a 100 million euro investment and designed to become the first zero-impact cooked ham plant in Europe.
Ferrarini also communicates product features that are increasingly relevant to consumers and distribution channels, such as the absence of gluten, lactose and milk proteins. Taste, quality, territory, environmental sustainability and attention to health therefore form part of a single narrative, consistent with the brand's long-standing path.
Attention to the supply chain further strengthens the brand's positioning: Ferrarini emphasizes control over ingredients and production processes within a broad range that includes cooked ham, dry-cured hams, mortadella, salami and other aged specialties.
To learn more, see also: "Ferrarini: Italian cured meats and specialty foods since 1956. Opportunities for international buyers and distributors".
Mutti: specialization, leadership and creative product communication
Founded in 1899, Mutti is one of the clearest examples of specialization turned into competitive advantage. The brand has not built its growth around a generalist approach, but around one specific category: tomatoes. This focus has allowed the company to transform an apparently simple ingredient into a product with high perceived value.
In 2025 the group reached 777 million euros in turnover, up 10.6%, with volumes increasing by 9%, with a strong international focus, as exports account for 60% of turnover. In Italy, Mutti maintains a leading position in tomato products, while growth is also driven by dynamic markets such as the United States, Germany, Poland and Australia.
The brand's modernity also emerges through communication. To celebrate the 55th anniversary of Polpa, Mutti launched the campaign "The original that makes you original", and brought the House of Polpa project to Fuorisalone 2026, an installation dedicated to the brand's signature product and made with thousands of cans. The initiative linked an everyday pantry staple to a creative and lifestyle setting, showing how the identity of the product itself can become the starting point for contemporary, distinctive communication.
For professional buyers, Mutti shows that specialization, perceived quality and coherent storytelling can support premium positioning even in highly competitive categories.
De Cecco: the production method as contemporary value
De Cecco has been associated with pasta since 1886 and was the first dry pasta producer to be recognized as a Historic Brand of National Interest. Its strength lies in its ability to turn a historic production method into a contemporary promise: slow low-temperature drying, bronze drawing, carefully selected semolina and cooking performance.
In 2024 turnover exceeded 686 million euros, up 10% compared with 2023. In 2025 sales were supported by exports, which accounted for 58% of volumes, while the Italian market represented 42%.
Recent innovation confirms the brand's intention to reach new consumer targets without losing its premium positioning. High Protein pasta, special formats, gluten-free lines and communication activities linked to sports ambassadors show how the brand is seeking to engage consumers interested in performance, nutrition and lifestyle.
For distributors, De Cecco offers an example of a historic brand that does not compete only on Italian origin, but on technical arguments that can be clearly communicated in retail and international foodservice.
Vicenzi: Italian pastry, distinctive identity and new languages
Vicenzi Group began in 1905 with Matilde Vicenzi's workshop and is now an interesting example of the evolution of Italian industrial pastry. In 2024 it reached 167 million euros in turnover, up 3%, driven mainly by international markets. The group is present in more than 90 countries and includes brands such as Matilde Vicenzi, Grisbì and Mr. Day.
The brand's contemporary relevance is especially clear in its ability to differentiate consumption occasions. Among its latest launches, Grisbì confirms its ability to renew itself through sophisticated flavors and special editions, such as Mood Boosting Mango & White Chocolate. Multichannel campaigns, TV presence and digital content strengthen the brand's positioning around personal pleasure, breaks, lifestyle and seasonality.
For foreign markets, Vicenzi has a clear advantage: it offers an idea of recognizable Italian pastry suited to modern channels, from retail and e-commerce to gifting and seasonal occasions. This case shows how tradition, history, quality and contemporary communication can support international development.
Petra Molino Quaglia: when flour becomes a professional method
Petra Molino Quaglia is a particularly interesting case for a B2B audience. The history of Molino Quaglia began in 1914 with Angelo Quaglia's first watermill, within an even older family milling tradition. Over time, the company has transformed flour from a generic raw material into a technical and identity-building ingredient, creating around the product a system based on research, training and professional culture.
The value of the brand is therefore not limited to supplying flours for bread, pizza, pastry and foodservice. Università della Pizza, Accademia del Pane, Pizzaup and projects aimed at bakers, pizza makers and pastry chefs have helped turn Petra into a platform of expertise, capable of supporting professionals in using the product and improving the final result.
For distributors, this approach is particularly useful: a flour supported by technical content, training and enhancement tools is easier to differentiate than a product evaluated only on price or basic characteristics.
Another distinctive element is Augmented Stone Milling (ASM), the process developed by Molino Quaglia. It is an enhanced stone-milling process that combines the historic experience of the mill with a modern plant, with the aim of preserving the aroma, taste and components of the grain while improving the flour's control, stability and workability. In this case, innovation does not replace the artisanal and historic process, but makes it better suited to the needs of contemporary professional workshops.
Petra Molino Quaglia therefore shows that even a technical raw material can move beyond commodity logic when supported by method, training and process innovation. For producers, distributors and specialist operators, it is an example of how a brand's history can become commercial value not only through storytelling, but through practical tools that help professionals work better and differentiate their offer.
To learn more, see also: "Professional flours: Petra Molino Quaglia prioritizes quality and a traceable supply chain".
Ponti: centuries-old heritage and new uses for Italian vinegar
Ponti is a brand whose roots date back to 1787 and is listed in the Register of Historic Brands of National Interest. Its strength lies in having expanded the role of vinegar, taking it beyond its function as a simple condiment: today the brand covers everyday cooking, gourmet recipes and products designed for evolving food habits and more versatile consumption occasions.
In 2024 the company reached almost 119 million euros in turnover, up 3%, while international markets grew by more than 10%. The stated objective is to reach 250 million euros in revenue within three years, with an even balance between Italy and international markets.
The most recent initiatives point towards high-end positioning and adaptation to new consumption habits: Aceto Balsamico di Modena 1787, Melagold and solutions designed for contemporary dishes such as poke and salads show how a historic ingredient can be repositioned around current usage occasions.
For distributors and buyers, Ponti is a useful case for understanding how to enhance mature categories through support for commercial partners, refined formulations, packaging and broader everyday use.
Riso Gallo: from historic rice mill to digital supply chain
Riso Gallo was founded in 1856 and is one of Italy's oldest rice companies. Its recent evolution is particularly interesting because it shows how a category often perceived as a commodity can become more modern through technology, sustainability and new formats.
The group is present in around 80 countries and has developed supply chain tools such as Gallo4Farmers, a digital platform created with xFarm Technologies to monitor cultivation practices, records, water management and environmental impacts. Innovation therefore concerns not only the finished product, but also the relationship with farmers and the measurement of sustainability.
On the product side, references such as Blond Pronto in 1 minute, Bontà Pronte and rice-based snacks show the brand's adaptation to faster, healthier and more versatile consumption habits.
For B2B operators, Riso Gallo offers important insights: making the supply chain traceable, simplifying product use and developing formats suitable for modern retail, foodservice, ready meals and international markets.
Venchi: quality chocolate as a premium experience
Venchi was founded in Turin in 1878 and has turned Italian chocolate into an internationally recognizable brand. Its development is interesting because it goes beyond production, integrating experiential retail, gelato, gifting, seasonality, tourism and digital channels.
In 2025 the company reached 280 million euros in turnover, up 15% compared with 2024. Its international growth is linked to a strategy based on single-brand stores, airports, high-traffic tourist locations, e-commerce and global campaigns.
The Spring & Easter 2026 campaign, developed across digital, e-commerce and point of sale, confirms the brand's ability to use seasonal occasions as moments of commercial engagement. For distributors, Venchi is an example of a historic brand that sells not only products, but experience, gifting and premium retail. It offers a useful lesson for many Italian companies: in international markets, a category can grow when it is turned into a ritual, an occasion and a story.
Monini: extra virgin olive oil, measurable sustainability and market growth
Founded in 1920 in Spoleto, Monini is a relevant case because it operates in a category highly exposed to production volatility, price pressure and growing expectations around sustainability. In 2024 it reached 257 million euros in turnover, up 33%, while exports account for around 50% of volumes.
The core of the offer remains extra virgin olive oil, but the brand's modernity is linked to its ability to document sustainability in a measurable way. The Bosco Monini project has exceeded 793,000 plants across 1,673 hectares, with organic olive groves and 17 different cultivars.
For buyers and distributors, this approach matters because EVO oil is not presented only as a traditional product, but as the result of a supply chain, an agricultural landscape, environmental responsibility and consistent quality. In a complex category, Monini shows how sustainability and growth can become credible selling points.
Auricchio: iconic product, positioning and effective communication
Auricchio was founded in 1877 and is deeply linked to Provolone, the iconic product that has shaped the brand's recognizability. The recent challenge is to make a deeply rooted brand feel current without weakening its identity.
The new positioning "Più che originale, l'originale", translated into English as "More than original, the original", together with the logo restyling and the reference to Napoli 1877, shows a clear strategy: enhancing authenticity while updating language and media presence. The 2026 multichannel campaign uses TV and streaming platforms, highlighting the intention to reach different audiences.
The group expects to close 2025 with 420 million euros in total turnover and has also strengthened its presence through the 3B Latte brand, with cheeses presented in a lighter, more contemporary way. For the B2B market, Auricchio shows how a historic product can become a range platform, a recognizable base from which to develop new products and move towards more consumption occasions, while maintaining the authority of the parent brand and opening up to new consumption habits.
Caffè Vergnano: long-standing roasting tradition and social sustainability
Caffè Vergnano is one of Italy's most historic coffee roasters, active since 1882. In 2024 it reached 124.7 million euros in revenue, up 17.5% compared with 2023. Exports grew by 33%, reaching 32.8 million euros, with a presence in more than 90 countries.
The brand's modernity develops on several levels. On one side, the partnership with Coca-Cola HBC has strengthened international distribution; on the other, the Women in Coffee project has given the brand a social and values-driven dimension, connecting coffee with female empowerment, supply chain and sustainability.
For the B2B channel, coffee is a cross-sector category: retail, hospitality, offices, vending, travel and foodservice. Caffè Vergnano shows how a family brand can grow outside Italy while maintaining a clear identity, supported by a consolidated distribution network and values suited to global markets.
Polara: the case of a regional SME exporting identity
Among historic brands, Polara offers a particularly useful example for many Italian companies that associate their image with their region of origin. Founded in Modica in 1953, the company has built its identity around Sicilian soft drinks, the island's citrus fruits and a highly recognizable regional imagery.
In 2025 Polara reached 15.8 million euros in turnover, up 10%. Exports account for 30% and the brand is present in more than 50 countries. The Infiorata di Noto 2026 limited edition turns three symbolic products - Chinotto di Sicilia, Limonata di Sicilia and Mandarino Verde di Sicilia - into designer bottles inspired by the famous floral event that celebrates the historic center of Noto every year.
The Polara '53 line, dedicated to tonics and mixers with a reduced sugar content, also shows the brand's ability to enter the world of mixology and cocktail bars. For producers linked to regional identity, Polara shows that territory can become an export lever when it is translated into design, channels, serving contexts and brand consistency.
Strategic insights for producers, distributors and buyers
These cases show that longevity is not an automatic advantage. It becomes competitive only when it is transformed into a strategy that the market can clearly understand. Producers should ask themselves whether their history really generates commercial value: does it help explain the product? Does it strengthen trust? Does it support the price? Does it differentiate the range? Does it make the work of foreign partners easier?
For distributors and buyers, the analysis of historic brands offers useful selection criteria. Awareness alone is not enough: it is important to look at growth, investments, channel adaptability, marketing support, product innovation, clarity of positioning and the ability to generate content that can be used in the local market.
The most interesting Italian brands are those that combine three levels: recognizable roots, a modern offer and commercial strength.
When tradition, innovation and distribution capacity work together, the brand does not remain anchored to the past but becomes a tool for building new opportunities.
